Knee-protector.



R. T. JENNEY & 8.1. LANGER.

KNEE PROTECTOR.

APPLICATION FILED mm: 3,19us.

Patented Bee. 25,1917.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT T. JENNEY AND RUDOLPH J. LAI'IGEE, OF TEONTICELIIO, IOWAASSIGNORS HALL MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF MONTICELLO, IOWA, .A.CORPORATION OF IOWA.

KNEE-PROTECTOR.

Application filed June 3, 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we Ronnn'r T. Jnnnnr and RUDOLPH J. Lr mcnn, bothcitizens of the United States, and residents of Monticello, inthc'county of Jones and State of Iowa, have jointly invented a new anduseful Improvement in Knee-Protectors, of which the following is aspecification.

Our invention relates to a yielding pad or support for the knees ofminers, cementworkers, gardeners and others whose work necessitatespressure on the knee and also moving about or walking thereon.

The primary object of the invention is to generally improve theconstruction and in crease the utility and efficiency of devices of thischaracter, the improvements being directed more particularly toward theprevention of the knee-supporting fabric coming in contact with theground or other surface being worked over; toward making the devicestrong and stable and therefore not liable to distortion by theinnumerable strains imposed upon it; toward the provision and novelarrangement of the means for securing it to the leg of the user; towardthe provision of a superior base or foot and means for attaching it tothe frame; toward the provision in the frame of a portion which acts torock the base or foot as the wearer advances; and toward the provisionof novel and beneficial structural peculiarities presently described.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective of the preferred embodiment of our invention;

Fig. 2, a side elevation illustrating the application of the device; and

Fig. 3, a modification, partly in elevation and partly in section.

Considering the drawing in detail and referring to each element and,where necessary, to each part thereof, by a distinguishing referencenumeral, uniformly employed, 2 indicates a yielding frame preferablyconstructed of a single piece of heavy wire. It is bent at its midlengthto form a crossarm 3 from which depend vertical portions 4 the lowerends of which are projected rearwardly to form pad-supporting arms 5,the rear ends of these being continued and bent to form double-coilsprings 6 the terminals of which extend thence forwardly to providefoot-engaging arms 7 which are curved inwardly and the ends of whichmeet at 8.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 25, 1917. Serial No. 101,536.

9 indicates a foot or base, preferably formed of sheet-metal and turnedup at its front end to form a rocker 10 which facilitates and cases theadvancing movement of the user. It is provided also with clips or ears11 each of which firmly embraces one of the arms 7. Struck up from theforward portion of the foot 9 is a clip or car 12 which binds firmlytogether the terminals of the frame.

In Fig. 3 we show a clip 12 having a transversely arranged eye 13 whichembraces said terminals, the clip being secured to the foot by rivets14. g V

Riveted or otherwise secured to the arms 7 is a. knee-rest or pad 15,which of course may be of any. suitable material.

Secured to the juncture of the portions 3 and 4 and at one side of thedevice is a loop 16 carrying a buckle 17 adapted to be engaged by thefree end of a strap 18 suitably secured to the opposite portions 3 and4, whereby to attach it to the wearers leg, above the knee. Secured toone of the double-coil springs 6 is a loop 19 carrying a buckle 20adapted to be engaged by the free end of a strap 21 secured to theopposite spring.

It is to be observed that the weight of the user comes on the front endportion of the pad or rest 15, and that as said front end is at theextreme front ends of the arms 5 much more yielding is permitted than ifthe weight were placed at or substantially in the same vertical plane asare the coils. No welding or soldering is required. The plate 9 preventsthe pad 15 from coming into contact with wet ground, wet cement, etc.,to thereby allow moisture and dirt to collecton the garments. As theuser inclines forward, as in taking a step, that portion of his legabove his knee will bear against the cross-arm 3 and cause the device torock forward with facility and ease. Should one of the clips on the foot9 become broken, the others will hold the frame thereon until a new footcan be secured on the frame, and should the foot become badly worn, asit will when working over the cinders, grout, sand and cement ofconcrete work, it may quickly be knocked off and a new one substituted.The points of attachment for the several securing straps areadvantageously located at such positions that the wearer will not beinconvenienced or chafed.

7e realize that considerable variation is possible in the details ofthis construction without departing from the spirit of the invention.Therefore we do not intend to limit ourselves to the specific formherein shown and described except as pointed out in the followingclaims, in which it is our intention to claim all the novelty inherentin the invention as broadly as is permitted by the state of the art.

Accordingly we claim:

1. In a knee-protector, a yielding frame including coil springs andparallel sidearms, a knee support secured to said sidearms, thecontinuation of each side-arm bent to form a coil spring disposed at theextreme rear end of the device and the terminals of said springsprojected forwardly, and a sup-- 3. A knee-protector frame formed of asingle wire bent to form horizontal pad-supporting arms, the extensionsof which are coiled to form springs which constitute the rear end of theframe, the terminals of the springs extended forwardly to form footcarrying arms.

4. In a knee-protector, a frame with a pair of oppositely arranged coilsprings at its extreme rear end, both terminal portions of each springprojected forwardly and arranged one in a higher horizontal plane thanthe other, a knee-rest secured to the upper ones, and a base secured tothe lower ones.

5. A knee-protector frame formed of a wire bent to form horizontalpad-supporting arms the extensions of which are coiled to L form springsarranged at the extreme rear end of the frame, the terminals of thesprings extended forward to form foot-carrying arms, and a securingstrap engaged with each coil spring, its free ends adapted forengagement with each other.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our joint invention wehereunto sign our respective names, this 27th day of May, 1916.

ROBERT T. J ENNEY. RUDOLPH J. LANGER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of ratentl, Washington, D. 0.

